A Candy Maker's Witness

This weeks Tasty Tuesday doesn't include a recipe, but I'm sharing something fitting for it! For the past two years at school, Hunter has come home with a candy cane and this story attached to it. I had no idea it's significance and symbolism to Jesus Christ. It touched my heart and I've never forgotten it!

A candy maker in Indiana wanted to make a candy that would be a witness, so he made the Christmas Candy Cane. He incorporated several symbols for the birth, ministry, and death of Jesus.

He began with a stick of pure white, hard candy. It was white to symbolize the virgin birth and the sinless nature of Jesus; and hard to symbolize the Solid Rock, the foundation of the church, and firmness of the promises of God.

The candy maker made the candy in the form of a "J" to represent the precious name of Jesus, who came to earth as our Savior. It could also represent the staff of the "Good Shepherd" with which He reaches down into the ditches of the world to lift out the fallen lambs, who like all sheep, have gone astray.

Thinking that the candy was somewhat plain, the candy maker stained it with red stripes. He used three small stripes to show the stripes of the scourging Jesus received by which we are healed. The large red stripe was for the blood shed by Christ on the cross so that we could have the promise of eternal life.

Unfortunately, the candy became known as a candy cane - a meaningless decoration seen at Christmas time. But the meaning is still there for those who "have eyes to see and ears to hear."

Our prayer is that this symbol will again be used to witness to the wonder of Jesus and His great love that came down at Christmas and remains the ultimate and dominate force in the universe today.

From our home to yours, Merry CHRISTmas!!!